She might have been suffering from ‘double boob’ syndrome yesterday, but today Katie Price really did let it all hang out.

The 33-year-old showed off her tiny figure as she promoted her swimwear range in a London studio and also revealed a new tattoo.

Proving that she’s still a fan of a plunging neckline, the mother-of-three struck a variety of poses ensuring that all eyes were on her and the body ink that resembled a garter on her right-hand thigh.

Artist/actor/occasional fashion designer Greg Lauren (nephew of Ralph Lauren) and wife actress Elizabeth Berkley (who starred in “Saved by the Bell”) are expecting their first child. The couple married in 2003.

Also expecting: Vanessa Minnillo and Nick Lachey.

Rapper Kanye West showed his second women’s collection in Paris, after debuting his first last year to what might kindly be called tepid reviews. To quote Luke Leitch writing in the Telegraph about this year’s show, “He may be utterly unqualified to show as a designer in Paris, but he certainly has chutzpah.” And he drew a hip crowd, including Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz and Sean Combs.

Besides West and Chanel’s crystal cave, which Fashion News mentioned previously, other attention-getters at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday included Alexander McQueen’s floral dresses and Valentino’s leather and intricately beaded dresses.

Sarah Burton, McQueen’s creative director, says the looks she sent down the runway were inspired by fungi. And she meant that in a good way.

The maker of the popular Brazilian Blowout hair-smoothing treatment has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for about $4.5 million. That comes out to about $35 per treatment (to a maximum of three) for each customer who says she was harmed by the product, plus $75 per bottle purchased for each stylist. Earlier the manufacturer reached a settlement with the California attorney general’s office to warn stylists and consumers that the products contain formaldehyde, which can cause respiratory problems and is a known carcinogen.

Recent Cosmopolitan cover girls Freida Pinto and Dakota Fanning were among the attendees at Cosmo’s Fun and Fearless Awards on Monday night in Manhattan, where Paul Rudd won a Fun and Fearless Male Award.

It’s official: Hedi Slimane takes over as creative director for Yves Saint Laurent following the departure of Stefano Pilati, who showed his final collection for the label in Paris on Monday.

Alexander Wang denies allegations made by a former employee in a lawsuit that its factory in New York’s Chinatown is a sweatshop.

GLISTENING gowns and well-heeled beauties set the mood last night for the glittering prelude to Melbourne’s frock fest.

Australia’s most glamorous women — supermodels Megan Gale and Samantha Harris, bikini babe Lara Bingle and beauty queen Jesinta Campbell — mingled on the lawns of Government House to celebrate this year’s L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Premier Ted Baillieu was impressed by the style on display, offering himself for a makeover and confessing his fashion sense was rated triple B, for “budgies, Blundstones and boardies”.

Models wearing high- voltage gowns in shades of gold, blush and bone by A-list couturiers J’Aton, Gwendolynne, Alex Perry, Toni Maticevski, Collette Dinnigan and Megan Park elegantly set the tone.

The traditional Government House opening on the Sunday before the March 14 festival has been replaced this year by a star-studded party and a public exhibition of Aussie fashion through the decades.

New creative director Grant Pearce has tweaked the schedule to include a menswear show, and designer to the stars Alex Perry will stage a large- scale catwalk show during the festival.

Keen fashionistas can buy their way into the coveted front row with VIP seats available.

WHO needs Paris and Milan when Aussies do stylish high fashion that real women can wear and afford.

Megan Gale says international fashion labels could learn valuable lessons from the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and its Sydney cousin. The stunning face of L’Oreal Paris says the week-long celebration of Australian fashion gives a much-needed boost to local designers and retailers.

Pics: Megan Gale mega gallery

“The shows in Paris and Milan are held in high esteem,” Gale says.

“It’s a shame that people don’t have that much focus on Melbourne or Sydney fashion weeks. Festivals such as the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival are far more accessible, wearable and affordable.”In the current climate it makes much more sense to hold a festival for the consumers. People come away with a realistic expectation of being able to purchase real pieces.”

Burton unveiled a fantasy offering at Paris Fashion Week Tuesday. It’s a testament to her technical expertise, as well as the fertile imagination it takes to push the house forward, inspiring McQueen devotees and giving the fashion world some much-needed fantasy.

Ivory, ornately embroidered, cinched-waist coats featuring full fluted skirts and smothered with capelets and collars of fur and feathers opened the show, and we knew were off to a fairy-tale beginning.

Some ultra-glam minis made of fur pompoms added a great dose of whimsical glamour. And bright fuchsia, feather-trimmed dresses provided a big pop of joy.

Bergdorf Goodman fashion director Linda Fargo was impressed.

“It’s hard to even put into words the impact that these garments have,” Fargo said. “They almost look like gorgeously shorn poodles.”

“Sarah Burton is such an enormous talent!” Fargo added.

And truly, some of Burton’s creations defied description.

Backstage, I had a close look at a gargantuan, layered, powder-pink feather concoction that reminded me of a beautifully trimmed topiary. That’s the kind of magic that encourages us to see fashion’s possibilities in exciting new ways.

Of course, practicality doesn’t really figure in this equation, but Todd Lynn, the Canadian-born, London-based designer who is good friends with Burton, says what will be presented in the McQueen showroom will have a much more wearable appeal.

“Sarah’s a master of that. She understands the tone of what makes for great runway fare. But she also understands what women want to wear,” Lynn said. “She’ll make all this translate beautifully.”

As for Burton, she was glowing after the show. Still, she’s a reluctant “star” designer: I had my picture taken with her, but she asked that it not be sent into cyberspace. This is one humble artist who prefers that her magnificent work speak for itself.

Having blue hair might be enough to get ordinary fol noticed.

But Katy Perry has gone the extra mile with a bizarre ensemble at Paris Fashion Week.

The 27-year-old singer appeared to honour her Firework hit by wearing a pastel pink pleated dress emblazoned with a bright red fireball that dominated the lower part of her frock.Katy completed the look, which seemed to have been styled with a sprinkling of inspiration from Lady Gaga, with a long unbuttoned mint green pastel jacket and a studded bag to match.

She was of course hidden beneath a pair of large shades, with her ponytail scooped off her face in a not so flattering Croydon facelift.

Her quirky outfit was further decorated with mismatched earrings and spiky peep toe yellow heels.

But even Katy’s own make-up artist believes the Brit-winner takes things a little too far.

Jake Bailey told : ‘Katy is evolving. I think she’s only begun to tap the surface of all the different looks she’s going to do in her career.

‘When it comes to her music videos and performances, she has more fun than anyone else. That’s her show.

‘She likes to be over-the-top, maybe too much at times, but this is Fashion Week and she is respectful of the designers and she wants to represent.’

Despite her slender figure and mingling with the models, Katy insists she has been gorging on French food just like the other tourists.

She tweeted:”Toasted ham and cheese on a baguette in the morning parisisperfect”.

YSL staff was first to hear Tuesday that Hedi Slimane will become the fashion house’s new creative director following the recent departure of Stefano Pilati.

Slimane, who is most famous for his Dior Homme menswear collections from 2000 to 2007, will be the fourth designer to take over the reigns since founding designer Yves Saint Laurent retired in 2002 and died in 2008 at age 71.

Hedi Slimane: Best of photos

Israeli-American designer Alber Elbaz was the first to design the collection following the retirement of Saint Laurent. Then American Tom Ford took over only to be replaced by Pilati in 2004.

Pilati presented his final YSL collection Monday during Paris fashion week and received a standing ovation.

YSL chief Paul Deneve announced to employees Tuesday that Slimane will become the fourth creative director of the prestigious fashion house, since Laurent stopped designing.

Employees were told a public announcement would be made Wednesday.

Born in Paris, Slimane became synonymous with his skinny black rocker suits and skinny ties for men during his years at Christian Dior. Slimane is credited with encouraging a portly Karl Lagerfeld to lose weight. According to Lagerfeld he wanted to be svelte enough to fit into one of the designer’s narrow silhouette suits.

Slimane is also an avid photographer who has captured the portraits of such celebrities as Kate Moss, Pete Doherty, Robert De Niro and Lindsay Lohan.

Kanye West reportedly cancelled a press preview of his new fashion collection because he felt the bad reviews of his last offerings were “unfair.”

The hip-hop superstar debuted his DW Kanye West line in October as part of Paris Fashion Week in France, but the preview of his 2012 spring/summer line failed to impress notoriously tough fashion critics.

He returned to the French fashion event this week to unveil his new womenswear collection on Tuesday, but the New York Times reports West abruptly cancelled plans to show his designs to the press earlier in the day.

The publication’s fashion blog quotes the star as saying, “I don’t know about this. I got treated unfairly by the press last time. Why would I want to do this?” and when asked whether he would like to explain his designs to editors, he replied, “No. If they don’t understand it, they don’t understand it.”

West attracted a star-studded crowd at his show, with famous faces in the front row including Kim Kardashian, who was wearing a pair of shoes from the star’s collection, Alicia Keys, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Common, and reviews of his new designs were slightly more favorable than last year’s.

Christina Binkley of the Wall Street Journal writes, “Overall, given the extremely low expectations, I’d say he pulled it off. But with a lot of help. The rumors that he has been hiring consultants right and left seem likely accurate.”

Luke Leitch of Britain’s The Daily Telegraph, writes, “‘Rap with a capital C’ was how we headlined Kanye West’s execrably executed first incursion into Paris Pret-a-Porter last September… Tonight West came back for more – and good on him. He may be utterly unqualified to show as a designer in Paris, but he certainly has chutzpah. And the collection? Well, it was no hit – but neither was (it) hit with a capital S.”

The New York Times’ Eric Wilson adds, “Harder, faster, stronger, maybe just a little bit better. After a debut collection that was a critical flop last fall, Kanye West resumed his fashion career in Paris on Tuesday night, picking up right where he left off, with a spectacle of slinky dresses, leather pants that didn’t quite fit, furry peplums, broadtail stretch pants, some souped-up go-karts and Kim Kardashian. Well, at least that was an improvement.”

German design house Talbot Runhof visited the world of Charles Dickens’ Miss Havisham on Wednesday, in a Paris ready-to-wear show that channeled green foliage — a nice touch for fall.

A top in silk mousseline embellished with leaves opened the show, depicting the overgrown garden of the character from the 19th century Dickens novel who froze in time after she was left on her wedding day.

As expected from an English country garden, there were a lot of different textures ranging from an elegant looking dress in fluid lame tweed, to sheer tops in crystal embroidered silk tulle.

Stretchy skintight pants in leaf-printed satin worked a treat but somewhat jarred with the style of the show — more like Poison Ivy from “Batman Forever” than anything else.

The best look of the shoulder-strong show was an iridescent gown capped with a flowing cape-like coat in emerald green. But there was a lack of cohesion in the overall look, making this feel more like an off-calendar show than one on the official Paris runway.

Paris fall-winter menswear shows run from June 27 to July 1, followed by haute coute collections from July 2 to July 5.

There’s only so much you can do with wool, even if it’s cashmere. But Allude nevertheless managed to produce a tasteful, if repetitive, fall-winter collection Friday with some highly wearable clothes.

Now a signature, the German company’s heavy cashmeres gave cardigans and sweaters in burgundy, russet and blue a weighty sweep in the first runway show.

Other, thinner knits added a sexy touch, silkily contouring the bust. Flashes like trapeze inserts kept the mood contemporary with a retro wink, as with cool, bulls-eye-patterned knits in blue and red.

One beanie hat that looked like it could have been worn in the 1960s heyday of British model Twiggie was paired with a long cardigan that had the Bohemian feel of the decade after.

Among other shows Wednesday, glamor also filled the catwalk at Elie Saab show of a collection brimming with both traffic-stopping, sequined dresses and clients to buy them.

A glitzy array of va-va-voom silhouette ended with statement evening dresses that are sure to turn up at the next big Hollywood party, but that’s a theme from last season and the season before.

The slight variation this time was structure.

The peplum made a comeback in lean, more architectural daywear. A beautiful ash sheath with an armor-like, jutting waist perfectly balanced sex with the business look. It said: Admire, but don’t touch.

Prints in gray and black also marked a change from the total-color shock of the last ready-to-wear collection, with body skimming panels and cut-outs adding a dash of provocation to Saab’s slightly modified winning formula.

In a big-budget production, the house that made its name and built its early fortune with leather luggage wheeled out a steam-spewing locomotive on tracks at the Louvre Museum for its fall-winter show Wednesday.

Models descended from the life-size replica Orient Express dressed as bourgeois dames in tall Edwardian hats. Each was trailed by a valet carrying — naturellement — Louis Vuitton hat boxes, vanity cases, and petite valises in crocodile and embroidered sequins.

It took a moment for the spectators to focus on the clothes on the platform catwalk.

“It’s just sumptuous, and what a spectacle,” said French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve stepping onto the carriage after the show.

The signature bold patterns of Louis Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs traveled first-class alongside brocades and jacquards appliqued with laser-etched plastic stones. Adding to the time warp, big bejeweled buttons and curved lapels on three-quarter length coats harked to 1960s’ fashion.

Long heavy fabrics in brown, black, siennas and purple plunged to bottom-heavy and layered silhouettes.

“We’re imagining the romance of a better time,” said Jacob speaking backstage. “Whatever you try, clothes never really live in the past. They are worn now so they are modern, with a modern take.”

At which point Jacobs revealed he was wearing a knee-length black dress. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m wearing boxer shorts underneath.”

The new program is coordinated by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Columbia’s Counseling and Psychological Services, and currently has 10 student advisers staffing an online chat three nights each week.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs is now available to chat.

A pilot program online chat called Queer Peers and Allies now allows students to anonymously connect with peer advisers, similar to Nightline—but instead of calling a phone number, students talk via a secure online chat, adding another layer of privacy.

“Campus is really great about taking care of the macro issues that address the queer community, but we’re here to take care of the personal issues,” said one peer adviser, who asked not to be named because of the anonymous nature of the program.

The new online chat program is coordinated by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Columbia’s Counseling and Psychological Services, and currently has 10 student advisers staffing the online chat three nights each week. Lea Robinson, assistant director of LGBT programming and advising in OMA, said she hopes to attract more users by doubling the number of advisers next semester and adjusting the chat hours.

“It is only going to become more of a resource, especially around times with high stress levels like midterms … We want to make sure we’re creating spaces students can feel safe in and where students can get the support that they need,” she said.

The anonymity of the online chat program is one of its key aspects. While the online chat does require students to submit their UNI in case a dangerous situation arises, neither the students seeking help nor the queer peers know each other’s names.

“It’s trying to create some sort of programming that maybe speaks more to confidentiality, to more private spaces,” Robinson said. “Students may feel more comfortable getting online and chatting with someone about things going on as opposed to stepping in to a meeting or coming to a program.”

One of the peer advisers said that she would have taken advantage of the service had it existed previously.

“A lot of times people think since so many people are out and fine, it’s not a big deal, but it still is a big deal for a good deal of people,” she said.

While Queer Peers and Allies is new this semester, it has been in the works for several years.

The process began with Robinson’s predecessor, Kerry Poynter, who worked to formulate the program’s mission and obtain funding from the David Bohnett Foundation before leaving in 2008. In spring 2010, OMA developed its relationship with CPS, and it began recruiting and training “queer peers” last year.

“This program was created initially in trying to find a way to support students wherever they are in their own identity,” Robinson said.

Now that the program online chat is up and running, Robinson says she is excited to continue improving.

“We know that the need is there. We’re just continually working to figure out what the program will look like and how to get there,” she said.

Writer-director Drake Doremus, whose own long-distance relationship was the inspiration for the new feature “Like Crazy,” will be joining us for a live chat at noon on Nov. 2.

After its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the drama about the sometimes troubled love affair between a Los Angeles furniture designer (“Star Trek’s” Anton Yelchin) and a London journalist (“The Tempest’s” Felicity Jones) sparked a spirited bidding war, with Paramount Pictures and independent producer Indian Paintbrush grabbing the film for some $4 million. The largely improvised film, whose cast includes future “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence, opens this weekend in Los Angeles and New York to strong  reviews.

The 28-year-old Doremus, whose last feature was the 2010 Sundance selection “Douchebag,” recently completed principal photography on his next feature, which also stars Jones. The as-yet untitled movie also stars Guy Pearce, Amy Ryan and Kyle MacLachlan.

To register for the live chat and schedule a reminder, please fill out the form below. And be sure to join us next Wednesday.

Edward Reilly, 52, of Delmar, a former DEC environmental engineer II, was accused in a criminal complaint filed in Albany City Court with making more than 760 calls to premium rate telephone services over a more than six-year period from his office phone and conference room phones at DEC headquarters in Albany.

In total, the calls, mostly made to phone numbers located in the Caribbean, added up to $20,125 billed to the DEC and lasted more than 500 hours chat at times Reilly was supposed to be working for the State, according to the state Inspector General’s office.

“The charges allege he not only misappropriated State resources but that he did it while on the taxpayers’ time,” Inspector General Ellen Biben said. “Theft from the State will not be tolerated, and my office will continue to vigorously root out individuals who abuse the public trust.”

The charges allege Reilly made numerous phone  chat to such premium rate telephone services as VIP Sensual Chat, VIP Club Sensual Chat, Quest Chat, Secret Encounters, Metrovibe and Local Chat.

Reilly was charged with third-degree grand larceny and five counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, felonies. He was arraigned before Albany City Court Judge Rachel Kretser and released on his own recognizance pending further court action.

The top charge alone, third-degree grand larceny, carries a maximum potential prison sentence of 2 1/3 to 7 years.

Russian Elizaveta Tuktamisheva, who is only 14 years old, took a big lead in the women’s singles at the Skate Canada International figure skating competition on Friday.

The Russian, who earned 59.57 points for her short program, was so good that Alexei Mishin, the veteran Russian coach helping guide Tuktamisheva, calls her “the main hope for the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics” in 2014.

Tuktamisheva won’t meet the International Skating Union age requirement to compete in a senior worlds until 2013. But she certainly appears ready to take full advantage of the green light the ISU gave her to enter senior Grand Prix meets this season.

Tuktamisheva, the 2011 world junior silver medalist, was the only skater to cleanly land a triple-triple combination.

Americans Ashley Wagner (54.50 points) and Rachael Flatt (54.23) were second and third.

In pairs, world silver medalists and Russian champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov earned 70.42 points to outdistance their closest rivals in the short program: Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada.

The men’s and dance short programs are scheduled to follow Friday.

Wall Street is warming up to Microsoft Corp’s $8.5 billion purchase of online chat service Skype.

After initial shock at the price — more than double its expected public valuation — investors think Microsoft made a smart move buying advanced communications technology it can put into its products along with a ready base of users.

But there are still concerns the world’s biggest software company — with a patchy record on pleasing consumers and making acquisitions work — can really pull it off.

“It’s got huge potential. It pulls them directly into the telecoms area and they need to diversify,” said Nick Landell-Mills at Indigo Equity Research. “But they haven’t really made a lot of acquisitions. And Microsoft has noticeably failed so far on consumer. They are essentially an enterprise organization.”

Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, and Skype’s US base in Silicon Valley are buzzing as the two companies start the process of working together.

Skype chief Tony Bates has been in Redmond with his team for much of the past two weeks, after the deal closed.

Microsoft has not said what it plans for Skype — its biggest acquisition to date — except to say it is “incredibly excited” about getting the service into its products.

Most expect Skype video chat and messaging will start to appear soon on Xbox game consoles, Windows phones and Windows Live messenger, and later as an expansion to its Lync messaging and video chat service for businesses.

The strategy
Skype, which popularized the VoIP — voice over Internet protocol — method of using a computer as a phone, is the clear leader in the market, with 145 million users who sign in at least once a month.

Its online chat service is free, but it has 8.8 million customers paying for premium services such as placing calls to mobile phones or landlines from a PC and video-conferencing, which it is pitching strongly to businesses.

Microsoft is hoping Skype will enrich its own programs and platforms and become a vehicle for ads, without frightening off Skype’s loyal customers.

The most likely first step will be to bring Skype to the nearly 35 million active members of Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online gaming setup, allowing players to video-chat while they play games or watch movies.

“They are turning the Xbox form purely a gaming device to being a communications or entertainment console,” said Mark Moerdler, senior research analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “You can sit at your Xbox and be able to talk to other people through the camera in Kinect.”

Microsoft will then look to introduce Skype as an app on its Windows Phones and make it complementary to its PC software, analysts said, helping it battle rival services Google Talk and Apple Inc’s FaceTime.

The strategy will be to draw more people into Skype, especially business users, pushing them towards paid services.

“It’s a huge installed base and Microsoft can target them with services from Bing, ads and so on,” said Jack Gold, head of J Gold Associates, a telecoms research firm. “Skype can also plug into the Lync environment and give Microsoft scalability way beyond what they can do now, as many companies already use Skype.”

Track record
Microsoft regularly buys small companies as a way of bringing new technology and talent into the company. But it rarely makes big purchases.

Aside from its failed 2008 bid for Internet giant Yahoo Inc, the company tends not to venture into multi-billion dollar deals.

Of the big acquisitions it has done, the record is patchy at best. A decade ago it spent almost $2.5 billion buying business software firms Great Plains and Navision, which now form a central part of its offerings for corporations.

But its $6 billion deal to buy online ad firm aQuantive in 2007 — its biggest deal before Skype — was a flat out failure, with aQuantive’s managers fleeing the new regime.

On the consumer side of the business, its record is also unconvincing. Microsoft made a great deal buying video game maker Bungie on the cheap in 2000 and used its wildly popular Halo combat game to establish the Xbox as a power in the console market. Despite that success, Bungie split from Microsoft in 2007.